Ok, ok, I guess I couldn't stay away forever. It's weird charting out on my own, deciding what to blog about each day.
I just finished reading Big Papi's book. I timed it to coincide with the end of the regular season so that was a success. The book came out in 2007 so it's not up to date or anything (and doesn't even include their second World Series win which happened in 2007) but it was an interesting read none the less.
I remember a lot of things from the curse-breaking 2004 team but one thing that I can't remember ever happening was Papi being called Senor Octobre due to his two walk-off hits in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS against the Yankees. For those who don't know, Senor Octobre is the Spanish-equivalent of Mr. October which is famously the nickname of Reggie Jackson, one of the greatest postseason players of all time. This isn't the only time a nickname has been repackaged linguistically: Albert Pujols played many years for the St. Louis Cardinals and was a 3x MVP and 2x world champ. The nicknames Fat Albert and Winnie the Pujols never quite took off so many started calling him El Hombre, in remembrance of the Cardinals great Stan "The Man" Musial. Pujols actually declined the nickname because El Hombre is simply Spanish for The Man and he didn't appreciate sharing that nickname with a legend.
This is something I've seen over the years and don't really care for: the reappropriation of nicknames and themes. I'm not talking generally like there are football Giants and baseball Giants, football Panthers and hockey Panthers but specifically the players. Why did Dwight Howard come into the NBA with the Orlando Magic being known as Superman? 12 years earlier, Shaq came into the NBA with the Orlando Magic being known as Superman. Both Jevon Kearse (NFL) and Tim Lincecum (MLB) go by The Freak. Rich Gossage (MLB) and Tony Siragusa (NFL) are Goose. In boxing, we have Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard (which one was Sugar Ray named after?). Why did Kevin Garnett come into the league with the nickname The Kid, when it was already taken by Billy?
But the absolute worst has to be LaDainian Tomlinson swiping Lawrence Taylor's LT. I really don't understand why people allowed this to happen. LT (the real one) is an all-timer. LdT was one of the top RB's for a few years when fantasy football was really taking off. Judging by the first scene narration of Sandra Bullock, one of them caused Michael Oher to play football. The other one lost to the Patriots in the playoffs for 2 straight years and cried about it.
Maybe I'm a bit biased but I think if we as a society can't come up with fresh, new nicknames for players then we're 1) just being lazy to reuse an old one and 2) not appreciating history and the original bearer of the nickname. I think of the quote, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it" and just think of all the former players who are being phased out of our minds every day.
Arnold Palmer; Gordie Howe; Muhammad Ali. All historic greats who died in 2016. Lemonade and iced tea notwithstanding, how many young people are going to grow up knowing who Palmer was and what he did? I'm certainly not old enough to have ever seen him play nor am I a golf fan but I know how he changed the game. I can appreciate his career and his impact. If people think of Tiger Woods as the greatest golfer of all time, or of LaDainian fucking Tomlinson as LT, then we've all lost something.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Hall of Fame
I kept a cool head last year when no players were elected to Cooperstown, but as my post so nicely explained, there were multiple candidates worthy of enshrinement. And I define worthy as in even while they were still playing, people referred to them as future Hall of Famers. There's no debate here.
Except that in the world of PEDs, apparently that's the only thing taken into consideration. Nevermind that only five players (Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Sosa and Palmeiro) out of everyone on the ballot this year, had ever been connected to steroids, HGH, the cream, the clear, Balco, Biogenesis or any of the B.S. that we hear about seemingly all the time. The BBWAA's stance seems to be, "if you were playing anytime between the mid-90s to mid-00s you are guilty by association."
Yes, three worthy players were elected this year: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas. But they were all new to the ballot. So, once again, every player I listed last year has to be carried over again to next year. It's not that they aren't Hall of Fame material, it's that the voting is a mess. You may have heard that Craig Biggio missed the cut by two votes. Two! The main culprit (other than the occasional idiot voter) is the incomprehensible rule that voters can only select 10 players on any given ballot. Well, because no one was elected last year, we now have a bottleneck of layovers plus the annual new additions, meaning there are more than 10 worthy players. This leaves some guys like Biggio to jussstttttt get squeezed out.
If you think next year will give the voters a chance to catch up, you're wrong. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Delgado and Nomar Garciaparra will all be added to the ballot. The first 3 are more-or-less definite which puts us in a similar place as this year. Will Biggio be pushed over the hump, now that everyone is aware of his proximity? All I know is, judging by the last 2 years of selections, there will likely be a lot of negative critics.
Except that in the world of PEDs, apparently that's the only thing taken into consideration. Nevermind that only five players (Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Sosa and Palmeiro) out of everyone on the ballot this year, had ever been connected to steroids, HGH, the cream, the clear, Balco, Biogenesis or any of the B.S. that we hear about seemingly all the time. The BBWAA's stance seems to be, "if you were playing anytime between the mid-90s to mid-00s you are guilty by association."
Yes, three worthy players were elected this year: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas. But they were all new to the ballot. So, once again, every player I listed last year has to be carried over again to next year. It's not that they aren't Hall of Fame material, it's that the voting is a mess. You may have heard that Craig Biggio missed the cut by two votes. Two! The main culprit (other than the occasional idiot voter) is the incomprehensible rule that voters can only select 10 players on any given ballot. Well, because no one was elected last year, we now have a bottleneck of layovers plus the annual new additions, meaning there are more than 10 worthy players. This leaves some guys like Biggio to jussstttttt get squeezed out.
If you think next year will give the voters a chance to catch up, you're wrong. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Delgado and Nomar Garciaparra will all be added to the ballot. The first 3 are more-or-less definite which puts us in a similar place as this year. Will Biggio be pushed over the hump, now that everyone is aware of his proximity? All I know is, judging by the last 2 years of selections, there will likely be a lot of negative critics.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Hall of Fame
I'm not here to complain that nobody got into Cooperstown this year. I'm not here to rant about steroids or PEDs and players paying the price for their sins. I'm here to talk about who should be in the Hall of Fame. I have read too many articles the past two days going over the same topics so let's just cut to the chase of players who I think are worthy.
I'll start with the players who were on the ballot for the first time:
Barry Bonds - MLB's all time HR leader... he's IN
Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young awards... he's IN
Mike Piazza - the greatest hitting catcher of all time... he's IN
Craig Biggio - 3000 hits, knew how to take a HBP, played 3 different positions... he's IN
Curt Schilling - Bloody Sock. That's all that needs to be said... he's IN
Sammy Sosa - 600 HRs, threw his back out sneezing... he's OUT
Now, the layovers:
Dale Murphy - final year on ballot: great for a period of time but faded too fast... he's OUT (and he is actually out)
Jack Morris - next year is final year on ballot: 3.90 ERA. Nothing else can sway me... he's OUT
Jeff Bagwell - one of the top 1B of his generation... he's IN
Tim Raines - second greatest leadoff hitter ever... he's IN
Lee Smith - has a bunch of saves but was never dominant... he's OUT
Edgar Martinez - the greatest DH ever... he's IN
Alan Trammel - sabermetrics work in his favor... he's IN
Larry Walker - if he hadn't played in Colorado he'd have a chance... he's OUT
Fred McGriff - Hall of Very Good maybe... he's OUT
Mark McGwire - better than Sosa but he also didn't do anything but hit homers... he's OUT
Don Mattingly - boring production. There's a place for that but not the HOF... he's OUT
Rafael Palmeiro - merit alone I think he's done enough... he's IN
So that's my HOF ballot. I already know which ones I like that probably have no shot of making it but here's to hoping.
I'll start with the players who were on the ballot for the first time:
Barry Bonds - MLB's all time HR leader... he's IN
Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young awards... he's IN
Mike Piazza - the greatest hitting catcher of all time... he's IN
Craig Biggio - 3000 hits, knew how to take a HBP, played 3 different positions... he's IN
Curt Schilling - Bloody Sock. That's all that needs to be said... he's IN
Sammy Sosa - 600 HRs, threw his back out sneezing... he's OUT
Now, the layovers:
Dale Murphy - final year on ballot: great for a period of time but faded too fast... he's OUT (and he is actually out)
Jack Morris - next year is final year on ballot: 3.90 ERA. Nothing else can sway me... he's OUT
Jeff Bagwell - one of the top 1B of his generation... he's IN
Tim Raines - second greatest leadoff hitter ever... he's IN
Lee Smith - has a bunch of saves but was never dominant... he's OUT
Edgar Martinez - the greatest DH ever... he's IN
Alan Trammel - sabermetrics work in his favor... he's IN
Larry Walker - if he hadn't played in Colorado he'd have a chance... he's OUT
Fred McGriff - Hall of Very Good maybe... he's OUT
Mark McGwire - better than Sosa but he also didn't do anything but hit homers... he's OUT
Don Mattingly - boring production. There's a place for that but not the HOF... he's OUT
Rafael Palmeiro - merit alone I think he's done enough... he's IN
So that's my HOF ballot. I already know which ones I like that probably have no shot of making it but here's to hoping.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Celtics got bigger and Oranger on draft night
That’s right folks, I’ve
been dating a girl from Syracuse, NY and the Celtics drafted 2 players from
Syracuse University. What can I say, I’ve been in Danny Ainge’s ear.
#21: Jared Sullinger,
OSU, 6’9” PF
#22: Fab Melo, SU, 7’0”
C
#51: Kris Joseph, SU,
6’6” SF
We needed to get
bigger and that was clearly Ainge’s priority too. Jared Sullinger was one of
the top players in the country but some back issues caused him to drop. He is a
rebounding monster and has a solid offensive game. People are comparing him to Big Baby but with a better basketball IQ.
Fab Melo is a 7-footer
(you can’t teach size) and a dominant shot-blocker. He could end up a Bill
Russell-lite. He needs to work on his offensive game although he is
athletic enough to figure it out.
Kris Joseph led SU in
scoring the past 2 seasons but isn’t expected to contribute right away. He
could end up being a solid player off the bench and would do well to shadow Paul Pierce.
These picks don’t
really help us conceive if Kevin Garnett will be returning. Sullinger and Melo
could either be his replacements or protégés. Preferably, he would come back to
teach them everything he knows, which is a lot. Especially Melo and Joseph who
are behind the 8-ball defensively since they played zone in college but will be
playing man-to-man in the pros.
I rate the Celtics’
draft as a solid B+. That grade goes up to an A if Sullinger’s injury is
nothing serious and he can be the same player he was at Ohio State. Melo also
has great upside but will need to learn to become the anchor of the team’s
defense. Great upside, great potential, great picks.
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands
If you haven’t heard, I’ll Have Another won this year’s Kentucky Derby. The perfect name for a horse in a race known for being decadent and depraved. (And apparently someone was killed.)
The Derby first ran in 1875 and today is the most famous horse race in the world. It only makes sense then that after 130 years of building the prestige of Churchill Downs they would call up the owners of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC for some extra ad dollars. If they had said, “Sure, let’s put some posters up on the infield or fill some of the commercial breaks.” Fine, I have no problem with that. But why in the world would they give away the naming rights? Is there anything more ridiculous than “The 2012 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands?” If Thompson thought it was bad back in 1970 I wonder what he would be saying today.
Just how bad is it? Yum! Brands repeats the same commercial during each break proclaiming that, “You may not know our name but you know our restaurants.” So why in the world would they get naming rights? No one even knows theirs! Besides, what does Yum! Brands even have to do with Kentucky or horse racing? At least get Lids or someone you can tie in with the crazy hats people wear every year.
I know what you’re thinking; KFC would fit if A) they still went by Kentucky Fried Chicken and B) they weren’t lumped in with the rest of Yum! Brands. It makes no sense and it’s an embarrassment. What’s next, “The Preakness Stakes presented by Unilever?” End this already.
The Derby first ran in 1875 and today is the most famous horse race in the world. It only makes sense then that after 130 years of building the prestige of Churchill Downs they would call up the owners of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC for some extra ad dollars. If they had said, “Sure, let’s put some posters up on the infield or fill some of the commercial breaks.” Fine, I have no problem with that. But why in the world would they give away the naming rights? Is there anything more ridiculous than “The 2012 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands?” If Thompson thought it was bad back in 1970 I wonder what he would be saying today.
Just how bad is it? Yum! Brands repeats the same commercial during each break proclaiming that, “You may not know our name but you know our restaurants.” So why in the world would they get naming rights? No one even knows theirs! Besides, what does Yum! Brands even have to do with Kentucky or horse racing? At least get Lids or someone you can tie in with the crazy hats people wear every year.
I know what you’re thinking; KFC would fit if A) they still went by Kentucky Fried Chicken and B) they weren’t lumped in with the rest of Yum! Brands. It makes no sense and it’s an embarrassment. What’s next, “The Preakness Stakes presented by Unilever?” End this already.
Monday, April 30, 2012
2012 NFL Draft - Patriots Edition (Wrap Up)
Leave it to Bill Belichick to shock everyone in Round 1 and then keep the surprises coming through the rest of the draft… but not necessarily in a good way. In the 2nd round, Belichick selected safety Tavon Wilson out of Illinois. Who? This one had even Mel Kiper, Jr. flipping through his draft book. This kid was expected to go in the 6th round at the absolute earliest and possibly not even get drafted. Is that what concerned people about this pick? Not so much. The issue was when the Pats selected him. Spending a 2nd round pick on a player with 6th round (or worse) talent is a terrible value. Belichick could have selected another (better) player, or traded the pick, and still grabbed Wilson 4 rounds later. Hence the backlash.
Belichick’s next surprise was taking a former Rugby player *slash* Ohio State special teams standout, Nate Ebner. Ebner didn’t even play football until he got to college. He was a rugby player on the US national team (apparently they have one). He was even named MVP twice. He was a walk on at Ohio State and stuck, making his mark on special teams. So, to sum up, Belichick selected an ex-rugby player with practically no football experience who plays nothing but special teams, which is at most 10% of a game. Awesome.
Here’s the thing, these aren’t bad picks necessarily. Belichick is the king of finding players off the scrap heap and training them up into a specialized role. I’m sure he will do it again with these two. It’s just how he went about doing it. He likely could have picked up both of these guys after the draft, judging by how other teams rated them. Instead, he stuck to his guns, believed in his own rankings, and drafted them when he thought they were the correct selections, regardless of differing valuations and points of view. He’s getting blasted now but let’s see what people are saying next Super Bowl Sunday.
Belichick’s next surprise was taking a former Rugby player *slash* Ohio State special teams standout, Nate Ebner. Ebner didn’t even play football until he got to college. He was a rugby player on the US national team (apparently they have one). He was even named MVP twice. He was a walk on at Ohio State and stuck, making his mark on special teams. So, to sum up, Belichick selected an ex-rugby player with practically no football experience who plays nothing but special teams, which is at most 10% of a game. Awesome.
Here’s the thing, these aren’t bad picks necessarily. Belichick is the king of finding players off the scrap heap and training them up into a specialized role. I’m sure he will do it again with these two. It’s just how he went about doing it. He likely could have picked up both of these guys after the draft, judging by how other teams rated them. Instead, he stuck to his guns, believed in his own rankings, and drafted them when he thought they were the correct selections, regardless of differing valuations and points of view. He’s getting blasted now but let’s see what people are saying next Super Bowl Sunday.
Friday, April 27, 2012
2012 NFL Draft - Patriots Edition
I am first and
foremost a Patriots fan. Yes, I’m a big Sox & Celtics guy but I’ve been
watching the Patriots since I was born. I watched Super Bowl XX when the Pats
got crushed by the Shufflin'
Chicago Bears. I was 6 months old at the time and my mom put band-aids on my
teddy bears because we were going to Bury the Bears*. I had a Super Bowl party
every year from elementary school through high school including the Greatest
Moment of My Life – Super Bowl XXXVI (aka the Silence of the Rams). I still get
choked up when I watch the championship DVD of that season.
Anyway, you could say
I know this team pretty well. Especially the Belichick/Brady version because it
began during my formative (read: teenage) years**. But for the life of me, I
couldn’t remember a single time that Bill Belichick had done anything but trade
down in the first round of the draft. Obviously, I’m sure he stayed put
sometimes and just picked in our slot but I have way too many memories of him "disappointing"
fans by trading down and missing a chance at selecting an "impact" player***. (I
did a little research and it turns out he has actually traded up twice: in 2002
for Daniel Graham and in 2003 for Ty Warren).
So you would
understand my surprise last night when I heard, "The New England Patriots have
traded up to the #21 pick to select Syracuse DE, Chandler Jones." What!?
Awesome! Finally, the pass rusher we’ve been looking for ever since Richard
Seymour left!
And then, not 10
minutes later, "The New England Patriots have traded up to #25 to select
Alabama LB, Dont'a Hightower." I literally thought ESPN was lying to me. Why
would you do that ESPN? Then one of my friends tweeted me that it was real and
I think I passed out.
Hell, I don’t know
many college players but if Belichick likes them, and more importantly likes
them enough to trade UP for the first time in 9 YEARS, and trades up TWICE for
BOTH of them, then that deserves caps lock and a run-on sentence.
I’ll end
with a post-draft quote from Belichick during a Q&A session with the media:
On how important versatility was in drafting Jones & Hightower: "Every player has his own individual package, whatever it is. Some guys do one thing very well, other guys have some versatility, other guys can do a lot of different things. Whatever their deal is, it is and that’s what they come with."
No matter if he
shocked the world by trading up, it’s good to know some things about him will
never change… like his ability to not answer questions.
*In the AFC
Championship Game that year we Squished the Fish and then later on in Super
Bowl XXXI we tried to Squeeze the Cheese (some say Sack the Pack but that wasn’t
as big). Marketing at its best.
**My favorite number
is 11 because of Drew Bledsoe. I have no doubt if I was born 10 years later my
favorite number would be 12.
***Everything in that
sentence deserves quotation marks because the Pats have the best record in the
NFL since 2000 so fans certainly haven’t been disappointed AND there are no
sure-things in the draft. Wes Welker went completely undrafted, for example.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Patriots 2012 Schedule
Week 1 - at Tennessee
Week 2 - vs. Arizona
Week 3 - at Baltimore
Week 4 - at Buffalo
Week 5 - vs. Denver
Week 6 - at Seattle
Week 7 - vs. New York Jets
Week 8 - at St. Louis (in London)
Week 9 - Bye
Week 10 - vs. Buffalo
Week 11 - vs. Indianapolis
Week 12 - at New York Jets
Week 13 - at Miami
Week 14 - vs. Houston
Week 15 - vs. San Francisco
Week 16 - at Jacksonville
Week 17 - vs. Miami
This is a pretty great schedule for the 2012 Patriots. Maybe it’s not as good as last year’s "didn’t win a single game against a team over .500 until the AFC Championship Game" but it’s awesome nonetheless. This looks like a 13-3 season and another #1 seed in the AFC.
We play the entire AFC South (no world beaters) and the NFC West (who could make things interesting). It’s easy to sit here and say "Yes, the Pats are a better team than SF/SEA/ARI/STL" but the truth is you never know how inter-divisional games will turn out because of how rarely the teams play each other. I wouldn’t be shocked if one of those teams surprised the Pats and stole a win.
The rest of the schedule includes our familiar AFC East foes (twice), the Ravens and the Broncos. As long as everyone stays healthy – not a small feat in the NFL – the Pats should roll through the 2012 regular season. It’s crazy getting this far ahead of ourselves in mid-April but I haven’t had any football since the Super Bowl. At least the draft is next week.
Week 2 - vs. Arizona
Week 3 - at Baltimore
Week 4 - at Buffalo
Week 5 - vs. Denver
Week 6 - at Seattle
Week 7 - vs. New York Jets
Week 8 - at St. Louis (in London)
Week 9 - Bye
Week 10 - vs. Buffalo
Week 11 - vs. Indianapolis
Week 12 - at New York Jets
Week 13 - at Miami
Week 14 - vs. Houston
Week 15 - vs. San Francisco
Week 16 - at Jacksonville
Week 17 - vs. Miami
This is a pretty great schedule for the 2012 Patriots. Maybe it’s not as good as last year’s "didn’t win a single game against a team over .500 until the AFC Championship Game" but it’s awesome nonetheless. This looks like a 13-3 season and another #1 seed in the AFC.
We play the entire AFC South (no world beaters) and the NFC West (who could make things interesting). It’s easy to sit here and say "Yes, the Pats are a better team than SF/SEA/ARI/STL" but the truth is you never know how inter-divisional games will turn out because of how rarely the teams play each other. I wouldn’t be shocked if one of those teams surprised the Pats and stole a win.
The rest of the schedule includes our familiar AFC East foes (twice), the Ravens and the Broncos. As long as everyone stays healthy – not a small feat in the NFL – the Pats should roll through the 2012 regular season. It’s crazy getting this far ahead of ourselves in mid-April but I haven’t had any football since the Super Bowl. At least the draft is next week.
Friday, April 13, 2012
It's Fenway's 100th Opening Day!
Probably the second best well known baseball poem (after Casey at the Bat):
Baseball's Sad Lexicon
by: Franklin Pierce Adams
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double--
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
I got to see the plaques of all three of those players in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Baseball's Sad Lexicon
by: Franklin Pierce Adams
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double--
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
I got to see the plaques of all three of those players in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Boston Celtics – The Last Hurrah
Just a month and a half ago people had written this team off. They were a tweener; too old to win and too proud to lose. But now the Celtics are showing us there’s still some jump left in those legs. They’re making a big push and reminding teams why they were so feared the past 5 years. They want to go out their way.
It’s no secret that this is the last year of the Big 3. Garnett and Allen both have expiring contracts at the end of this season. Only Pierce, Rondo and Doc will remain from the 2008 championship. They know that this is their last chance together and they appear to have reinvigorated themselves. KG most of all seems to have found the Fountain of Youth. He’s taking more shots than he has in his entire Celtics career. He wants the ball and he wants to take the important shots. Ray Allen has been a big time team player and kept his ego in check while Doc has decided that he will now come off the bench. But two players who have absolutely added a spark to this team are young’uns Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma. Bradley has always been a defensive stopper but now he’s added some offense to his game. That well-rounded ability has allowed Doc to play Bradley and Rondo at the same time which is a real nightmare for opposing teams. And Stiemsma, well, what can you say? Celtics fans always root for the seemingly out of place white guy on the team. Remember Brian Scalabrine? Huge fan favorite. Stiemsma was the same way but this past month he’s come up big time. When Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox both went down with long term injuries Stiemsma was thrust into more playing time and boy has he responded.
The Celtics are alive and looking like a team to watch out for in the playoffs. They’re locked into the 4th seed and could maybe even reach the 3rd. But beyond that they no longer look like an easy out. This team will make it to the second round and put up a fight against Miami or Chicago. They have shown that they still have it in them. The NBA may be ready to put a fork in them but if they’re going down then they’re doing it swinging. For Red, for Russ, for the original Big 3, and of course for Perk. How about one more time?
It’s no secret that this is the last year of the Big 3. Garnett and Allen both have expiring contracts at the end of this season. Only Pierce, Rondo and Doc will remain from the 2008 championship. They know that this is their last chance together and they appear to have reinvigorated themselves. KG most of all seems to have found the Fountain of Youth. He’s taking more shots than he has in his entire Celtics career. He wants the ball and he wants to take the important shots. Ray Allen has been a big time team player and kept his ego in check while Doc has decided that he will now come off the bench. But two players who have absolutely added a spark to this team are young’uns Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma. Bradley has always been a defensive stopper but now he’s added some offense to his game. That well-rounded ability has allowed Doc to play Bradley and Rondo at the same time which is a real nightmare for opposing teams. And Stiemsma, well, what can you say? Celtics fans always root for the seemingly out of place white guy on the team. Remember Brian Scalabrine? Huge fan favorite. Stiemsma was the same way but this past month he’s come up big time. When Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox both went down with long term injuries Stiemsma was thrust into more playing time and boy has he responded.
The Celtics are alive and looking like a team to watch out for in the playoffs. They’re locked into the 4th seed and could maybe even reach the 3rd. But beyond that they no longer look like an easy out. This team will make it to the second round and put up a fight against Miami or Chicago. They have shown that they still have it in them. The NBA may be ready to put a fork in them but if they’re going down then they’re doing it swinging. For Red, for Russ, for the original Big 3, and of course for Perk. How about one more time?
Friday, April 6, 2012
Uh-oh and 1
I remember seeing that headline in the newspaper once when I was in high school. It was funny because that’s how Red Sox fans felt before the life changing 2004 season. Even after the first game of the year we were already expecting the worst, “Uh-oh, we’re 0-1.” It was the year the Sox had decided to go with the dreaded “closer by committee.” I think it was 2003 but don’t quote me on it.* Yesterday, the comparisons to that year and that headline were obvious.
With our longtime closer Jonathan Papelbon leaving for Philadelphia (without Sox ownership even making him an offer), ace setup man Daniel Bard being moved to the starting rotation and new closer Andrew Bailey out for 3-4 months before pitching in a single regular season game, our bullpen was already in upheaval. Still, with former Astros closer Mark Melancon on the roster as well as lifetime 24-3 record holder Alfredo Aceves, it wasn’t entirely in disarray. That is until the games started.
Yesterday was a battle of two aces: Jon Lester versus last year’s AL MVP & Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander. The Sox were down 2-0 heading into the top of the 9th but with Verlander finally out and the Tigers’ closer on the mound they were able to push across two runs to tie the game. Then came trouble. Manager Bobby Valentine sent out Melancon to start the bottom of the 9th. He gave up two hits while only getting one out and Valentine quickly pulled the plug and called in Aceves. He promptly hit his first batter with a pitch and then allowed the game winning single. Boo.
I have two things to say about this. First, this has nothing to do with not having Papelbon or Bailey. As closers, managers tend to save them until their team has a lead. In a tie game, it would be up to the setup guys. Which is why the problem really lies with Daniel Bard. If he hadn’t been moved into the starting rotation, even though he hasn’t started a game since 2007, he would have (likely) come in and held onto the tie. Instead we got the L.
Maybe this is a one-time thing. Melancon and Aceves are still getting into regular season mode and a little early rust can be expected (Remember, the Tigers closer gave up 2 runs to allow them to tie it up). Or maybe this is foreshadowing the rest of our season. Maybe no lead will be safe with our bullpen butchering things. There was already a rumor floating last night that the Sox were looking at Kevin Gregg of the Orioles to trade for and shore up the bullpen. Whether that’s true or not is another story but it shows that even GM Ben Cherington thinks this is a bigger issue than just one game. It’s a cause for concern. Uh-oh and 1.
*Now you can quote me.
With our longtime closer Jonathan Papelbon leaving for Philadelphia (without Sox ownership even making him an offer), ace setup man Daniel Bard being moved to the starting rotation and new closer Andrew Bailey out for 3-4 months before pitching in a single regular season game, our bullpen was already in upheaval. Still, with former Astros closer Mark Melancon on the roster as well as lifetime 24-3 record holder Alfredo Aceves, it wasn’t entirely in disarray. That is until the games started.
Yesterday was a battle of two aces: Jon Lester versus last year’s AL MVP & Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander. The Sox were down 2-0 heading into the top of the 9th but with Verlander finally out and the Tigers’ closer on the mound they were able to push across two runs to tie the game. Then came trouble. Manager Bobby Valentine sent out Melancon to start the bottom of the 9th. He gave up two hits while only getting one out and Valentine quickly pulled the plug and called in Aceves. He promptly hit his first batter with a pitch and then allowed the game winning single. Boo.
I have two things to say about this. First, this has nothing to do with not having Papelbon or Bailey. As closers, managers tend to save them until their team has a lead. In a tie game, it would be up to the setup guys. Which is why the problem really lies with Daniel Bard. If he hadn’t been moved into the starting rotation, even though he hasn’t started a game since 2007, he would have (likely) come in and held onto the tie. Instead we got the L.
Maybe this is a one-time thing. Melancon and Aceves are still getting into regular season mode and a little early rust can be expected (Remember, the Tigers closer gave up 2 runs to allow them to tie it up). Or maybe this is foreshadowing the rest of our season. Maybe no lead will be safe with our bullpen butchering things. There was already a rumor floating last night that the Sox were looking at Kevin Gregg of the Orioles to trade for and shore up the bullpen. Whether that’s true or not is another story but it shows that even GM Ben Cherington thinks this is a bigger issue than just one game. It’s a cause for concern. Uh-oh and 1.
*Now you can quote me.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Unholy Saints
It might be Spring Training, and the NBA & NHL seasons are in full swing, but yesterday was all about the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell crushed the Saints and their bounty program by suspending coach Sean Payton for the entire season, assistant coach Joe Vitt for 6 games, General Manager Mickey Loomis for 8 games, and their former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely. On top of that, Loomis was fined $500,000 and another $500,000 fine was brought down on the franchise as a whole. They will also lose two second round draft picks the next two years. And the Saints players shouldn’t feel too safe either. Rumor has it there may be fines or suspensions for Jonathan Vilma and other Saints defenders as well.
Anything that has come up in the past: Spygate, the Sal Alosi incident, and Big Ben’s multiple sexual assault allegations are miniscule compared to this. This is coaches paying players for hurting opposing players. It is 100% unacceptable and Goodell had to send a message. Consider it received.
In lighter news, future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos allowing the team to trade definitely-not-future Hall of Famer Tim Tebow to the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. People think Tebow is a bad quarterback but really he’s no worse than Mark Sanchez who has been awful in his 3 years in New York. Of course, the Jets are going to use him in their Wildcat offense (the former Brad Smith role). Tebow will be more like a running back who might rear back and throw it at any time. It’s an interesting weapon for the Jets but now they’re going to be even more under the microscope than before, which they do not appear able to handle. But hey, maybe Tebow can host SNL now.
Anything that has come up in the past: Spygate, the Sal Alosi incident, and Big Ben’s multiple sexual assault allegations are miniscule compared to this. This is coaches paying players for hurting opposing players. It is 100% unacceptable and Goodell had to send a message. Consider it received.
In lighter news, future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos allowing the team to trade definitely-not-future Hall of Famer Tim Tebow to the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. People think Tebow is a bad quarterback but really he’s no worse than Mark Sanchez who has been awful in his 3 years in New York. Of course, the Jets are going to use him in their Wildcat offense (the former Brad Smith role). Tebow will be more like a running back who might rear back and throw it at any time. It’s an interesting weapon for the Jets but now they’re going to be even more under the microscope than before, which they do not appear able to handle. But hey, maybe Tebow can host SNL now.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
March Madness
Every year around this time my mom calls me for help with her March Madness bracket. I tell her every year that I don’t really follow college basketball and that discussing it with me is not a competitive advantage. But it happens anyway.
She called last night and she was reading through the matchups and I realized that I couldn’t even remember the teams I had picked! Usually I fill out a hard copy. Writing the team names multiple times helps me remember them. This year, though, I used ESPN and did my bracket online.
One advantage to using some of the sports websites (Yahoo, CBS) is that they give you some information about the teams playing. That is extremely helpful for someone who doesn’t know anything about Loyola-Marymount. It felt like I was making informed decisions for a change instead of (relatively) blindly guessing.
But there is a downside to that too. First, I didn’t even look at what teams I was picking just what their matchup situation said would likely happen. This also was a cause of why I forgot my picks. Second, you should never feel good about your bracket. It’s not a math equation where there is an understood answer. Every matchup is a crapshoot. Any Given Sunday should have been a movie about the NCAA Tournament. The word upset was created for March Madness (mad / upset, see a connection?)
So don’t get too comfortable with your bracket until the first 2 rounds are complete. Highlight the winners and cross out the losers and see where you stand after the guaranteed wreckage. Everybody knows Sweet Sixteen is more important than just a birthday.
She called last night and she was reading through the matchups and I realized that I couldn’t even remember the teams I had picked! Usually I fill out a hard copy. Writing the team names multiple times helps me remember them. This year, though, I used ESPN and did my bracket online.
One advantage to using some of the sports websites (Yahoo, CBS) is that they give you some information about the teams playing. That is extremely helpful for someone who doesn’t know anything about Loyola-Marymount. It felt like I was making informed decisions for a change instead of (relatively) blindly guessing.
But there is a downside to that too. First, I didn’t even look at what teams I was picking just what their matchup situation said would likely happen. This also was a cause of why I forgot my picks. Second, you should never feel good about your bracket. It’s not a math equation where there is an understood answer. Every matchup is a crapshoot. Any Given Sunday should have been a movie about the NCAA Tournament. The word upset was created for March Madness (mad / upset, see a connection?)
So don’t get too comfortable with your bracket until the first 2 rounds are complete. Highlight the winners and cross out the losers and see where you stand after the guaranteed wreckage. Everybody knows Sweet Sixteen is more important than just a birthday.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
I'm a balla, baby
I am in the weirdest fantasy basketball league. Normally, I’m in 2 leagues a year but I’ve been trying to stop completely. I just don’t pay it as much attention as I did in college. Unlike fantasy football and baseball -- which I still make time for -- I usually show up for the basketball draft and then never look at my team again. So I was extremely close to going cold turkey this year. But my girlfriend’s friend was looking for another player so I joined. (I really had to resist the urge to join a second league that I was invited to as well. It would have been the same cycle all over again.)
I looked at the league categories and positions and it seemed pretty standard. Easy enough. What I didn’t even realize until one of my colleagues pointed it out a week or two into the season is that it isn’t a normal scoring league. It isn’t head-to-head or even rotisserie. It’s a combination of the two which is practically unheard of. It takes all your points for the week, regardless of category, and if your team has more than your opponent overall then you win the week. That changes everything! I need to go heavy on guards who score more and don’t even have to worry about extra centers because it doesn’t matter what stats they get (blocks, rebounds) as long as overall they are getting a lot of points.
I actually feel kind of cheated because this is such a weird situation. I’ve never been in anything like this and it really takes all the thought out of the game and having to choose between a guy who get you 3’s and a guy who gets you steals. Since the categories don’t matter at all it really is a basic, basic league. So of course now I need to back all this talk up and win the damn thing. See you in April.
I looked at the league categories and positions and it seemed pretty standard. Easy enough. What I didn’t even realize until one of my colleagues pointed it out a week or two into the season is that it isn’t a normal scoring league. It isn’t head-to-head or even rotisserie. It’s a combination of the two which is practically unheard of. It takes all your points for the week, regardless of category, and if your team has more than your opponent overall then you win the week. That changes everything! I need to go heavy on guards who score more and don’t even have to worry about extra centers because it doesn’t matter what stats they get (blocks, rebounds) as long as overall they are getting a lot of points.
I actually feel kind of cheated because this is such a weird situation. I’ve never been in anything like this and it really takes all the thought out of the game and having to choose between a guy who get you 3’s and a guy who gets you steals. Since the categories don’t matter at all it really is a basic, basic league. So of course now I need to back all this talk up and win the damn thing. See you in April.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Book Review: Shoeless Joe
by: W.P. Kinsella
If I hadn’t seen Field of Dreams I probably would not have been able to get into this book. It is so fantastical and it seems to come out of nowhere. Ray and his family are normal Iowa farmers trying to get by and then all this supernatural stuff starts happening. I like how Wikipedia describes it as a “magic realist” novel because that’s exactly what it is and why it seems so off-putting at first. You’re expecting ‘real’ and then you get blindsided by ‘magic’.
I also think it helped that I had seen the movie because I could picture the story more easily in my mind. I know people love books because the reader can imagine whatever they want but I liked being transported to the scenes of a movie that I really enjoy. Plus, Kinsella is very wordy in his visual descriptions and it can feel tedious at times. Instead, I could imagine their lines of dialogue and pick out which ones came directly from the book.
My recommendation is to stick with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones for a more enjoyable experience.
If I hadn’t seen Field of Dreams I probably would not have been able to get into this book. It is so fantastical and it seems to come out of nowhere. Ray and his family are normal Iowa farmers trying to get by and then all this supernatural stuff starts happening. I like how Wikipedia describes it as a “magic realist” novel because that’s exactly what it is and why it seems so off-putting at first. You’re expecting ‘real’ and then you get blindsided by ‘magic’.
I also think it helped that I had seen the movie because I could picture the story more easily in my mind. I know people love books because the reader can imagine whatever they want but I liked being transported to the scenes of a movie that I really enjoy. Plus, Kinsella is very wordy in his visual descriptions and it can feel tedious at times. Instead, I could imagine their lines of dialogue and pick out which ones came directly from the book.
My recommendation is to stick with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones for a more enjoyable experience.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Super Bowl XLVI
I have done everything in my power to ignore the Super Bowl these past 2 weeks. I haven’t written about it, I haven’t read about it, and I haven’t talked much about it. Now I’m all in.
I was rooting for the 49ers. Hard. The Giants have scarred me for life because of Super Bowl XLII and now they have the most talented, well-balanced team in the league. Kill me.
I have not gotten over 2008. 18-1 just doesn’t have the same panache, you know? I don’t care if David Tyree is out of the league and Plaxico Burress went to jail for shooting himself. Fuck the Giants.
What happened to the Josh McDaniels uproar? Did Bill O’Brien already leave for Penn State? No one’s talking about them anymore. When the Pats signed McDaniels to their coaching staff before the Denver game it was a huge story. He used to coach the Broncos! The Pats are getting inside information! I haven’t heard his name mentioned once since that game. And Bill O’Brien? Now that the decision has been made no one’s making a big deal out of it. It just is.
I’ve been growing a playoff beard since the Denver game. My girlfriend’s not a big fan but I can’t shave it off until after the game. Not that I’m superstitious or anything but if I shave it and they lose then that’s on me.
Tomorrow we are going to the Museum of Science. I would be too anxious if we were just hanging around the house or something. I need to take my mind off the game. Sunday is going to be awful. Pregame shows start at like 9 in the morning. I don’t know how I’m going to make it to 6:30.
I’ll leave you with this. My mom called me last week and asked if I wanted an AFC Champs shirt. I said no. She said “Oh, you must be waiting for the Super Bowl Champs shirt.” Yes, I am. The DVD too. What a season.
I was rooting for the 49ers. Hard. The Giants have scarred me for life because of Super Bowl XLII and now they have the most talented, well-balanced team in the league. Kill me.
I have not gotten over 2008. 18-1 just doesn’t have the same panache, you know? I don’t care if David Tyree is out of the league and Plaxico Burress went to jail for shooting himself. Fuck the Giants.
What happened to the Josh McDaniels uproar? Did Bill O’Brien already leave for Penn State? No one’s talking about them anymore. When the Pats signed McDaniels to their coaching staff before the Denver game it was a huge story. He used to coach the Broncos! The Pats are getting inside information! I haven’t heard his name mentioned once since that game. And Bill O’Brien? Now that the decision has been made no one’s making a big deal out of it. It just is.
I’ve been growing a playoff beard since the Denver game. My girlfriend’s not a big fan but I can’t shave it off until after the game. Not that I’m superstitious or anything but if I shave it and they lose then that’s on me.
Tomorrow we are going to the Museum of Science. I would be too anxious if we were just hanging around the house or something. I need to take my mind off the game. Sunday is going to be awful. Pregame shows start at like 9 in the morning. I don’t know how I’m going to make it to 6:30.
I’ll leave you with this. My mom called me last week and asked if I wanted an AFC Champs shirt. I said no. She said “Oh, you must be waiting for the Super Bowl Champs shirt.” Yes, I am. The DVD too. What a season.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Mound Pounders
This is for you. No, no, it’s not something you actually care about. I just feel bad that January became a book/movie review-fest and not much else. So here’s something different that still won’t interest you.
I am in a dynasty fantasy baseball league with some of my friends. There are 20 teams and each team has 25 active roster spots and 5 DL spots for injured players. We also have 5 minor league slots and a separate minor league draft but I won’t bore you with that. If you don’t know, a dynasty league is different from a normal fantasy baseball league because we keep the same players year after year. We draft one time and our teams carry over. It’s like the real life Red Sox. Ben Cherington became the GM this year and he has the players he has. He’ll make some trades or signings but next year he’ll have those same players. Dynasty is based off the same principle.
We started in 2010 and I had the ninth pick in the draft. I wanted to go pitching first because I always end up waiting and piecing together my staff. I did not want that to happen in the dynasty league. I took 2x Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Only one other pitcher went in the first round (Felix Hernandez). In the second round I went to a scarce position (2B) and picked the best player, Robinson Cano. I had a choice between Cano and Pedroia which was tough because I love Pedey in real life but in fantasy Cano is the (slightly) better option. In the third round I got nervous about the lack of quality 1B left so I grabbed Billy Butler. He doesn’t have much power but he is an asset in a league that counts OBP (On-Base Percentage) like this one. Moving along the diamond I wanted to take a 3B in the next round. I was iffy on Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart. I went with Beckham, only to find out that the White Sox were moving him to 2B. Complete waste of a pick (although it would later pay off in a trade). Luckily, Stewart made it back to me (I had to sweat through 20 picks by other people) and I grabbed him with my next pick. In the 6th round I wanted to get a SS and I chose Ian Desmond over Erick Aybar. I still regret this choice. At the time, I thought Aybar had peaked the year earlier and I heard reports stating that Desmond could be a 20/20 guy. He got the 20 steals last year but I’m still waiting for some pop in his bat. At this point in the draft I have no outfielders so I added the power hitting Jason Kubel. I had owned him before and considered him a pretty consistent 25 homers. In round 8 I reached for another outfielder, Michael Brantley. In the draft guide I was using it didn’t rank players dynasty-style (valuing youth and potential) so I wasn’t sure where to take him. I feel this was a little early. In the ninth round I couldn’t believe that David Price (former #1 overall draft pick) was still available. I grabbed him and didn’t think twice. Round 10 I went back to the young outfielders with Travis Snider. Round 11 was another young, Tampa Bay pitcher, Wade Davis. His strikeout numbers have yet to follow him to my team. Cameron Maybin was next… a former prospect whose shine had come off a bit. I picked J.A. Happ next because he was a former rookie of the year and had looked good in his short career. Back to the OF for Gerardo Parra, who hasn’t bloomed yet although he’s shown ability. He’s a player I see now on the waiver wire and always want to give another shot. I finally gave in and selected a closer in round 15 – the Cardinals’ Ryan Franklin. I never like to overrate saves. At this point I have a starter at every position except Catcher. Come on down, Carlos Ruiz! I like him because he’s in the stacked Phillies lineup. Next I choose a reliever JP Howell. An interesting choice because he is not a closer, but he is young and has high strikeout totals. Unfortunately, he’s been hurt and hasn’t amounted to much. I wanted some consistency on my pitching staff so I drafted Nick Blackburn. For 3 straight years he had 10-11 wins with an ERA in the low 4.’s. Round 19 I selected OF Marlon Byrd. Marc Rzepczynski is the pitcher I took with my 20th pick. Round 21 I went with another young pitcher, Wade LeBlanc. He pitches in San Diego which is one of the best pitchers’ parks in the league. I chose another non-closing reliever, Mark Lowe with pick 22. Next up was infield prospect Jason Donald. He was one of the prospects the Phillies sent to the Indians in the Cliff Lee trade. In round 24 I selected Cuban defector Dayan Viciedo who was quite green but a definite source of homers. The final round was upon me and, after choosing prospects with my last 2 picks, I selected an unsexy, unexciting, uninspiring player named Casey Kotchman. Ladies and gentlemen, your inaugural Mound Pounders.
My very first move after the draft – which will go down in history – was picking up Jose Bautista off the waiver wire. He went on to have a breakout season and became a superstar for the Blue Jays. My other big move was trading Gordon Beckham (who was stuck on my bench) for Ricky Romero, an up and coming pitcher whom I was a big fan of. Here is how my team looked at the end of that first season:
C: Ruiz, Ryan Hanigan
1B: Butler
2B: Cano, Donald
SS: Desmond, Yuniesky Betancourt
3B: Bautista, Stewart
OF: Kubel, Brantley, Maybin, Snider, Byrd, Andres Torres
SP: Lincecum, Price, Romero, Davis, Happ, Blackburn, LeBlanc, Brian Duensing
RP: Franklin, Joaquin Benoit, Jason Motte (26)
As you can see I ended the season over the allowable 25 players. Since we have those 5 DL spots, we can “stash” additional injured players at the end of the season. We can hold onto them until February when we have to officially get down to 25. This is a good strategy to buy yourself a few extra months to see who is recovering well and allows a more informed decision in February rather than having to in September.
During the season I obviously made many transactions. I wanted to add a backup catcher and ended up with Hanigan. The same can be said for SS where I grabbed Betancourt. Andres Torres was a great pickup for me because he helped a lot in the steals category. And as you can see, I picked up two other relievers to go along with my draftee, Franklin. Always be reactive and not proactive with relief pitchers.
Year 2 of the dynasty league was very exciting. I was able to pick up some veteran difference makers to help my team now. My goal in last year’s draft was to find young talent with high upside. I want to be good for a long time. Of course working within that strategy usually implies that you’re ignoring the present and waiting for the prospects to blossom. This year I was able to get solid HR contributors like Derrek Lee and Garrett Jones to help my offense, as well as Paul Maholm to boost my starting pitching.
As I already mentioned, I’m not one to overrate saves. The flip side is you never want to ignore them either. My relief corps is 100% changed from last year. In hindsight, dropping Jason Motte was a bad move but he didn’t win the closer role until August – many months after I dropped him. But I was able to pick up Sergio Santos and Javy Guerra who both came out of the woodwork to lead their respective teams in saves. If you play it like I do then you really need to keep a hawkeye on the waiver wire.
I got a stay of execution this year when Jose Bautista managed to reclaim his 3B eligibility. He plays RF now but due to an injury he got enough time at 3B for me to be allowed to play him in that spot. My problem was that Ian Stewart was the only other 3B on my roster and he had the worst year of his career this year. So bad, in fact, that he was traded in the offseason. Knowing this was a weakness on my roster I picked up a couple kids before the season ended to see if they might stick. Brent Morel is probably the best bet to be my 3B of the future. Kyle Seager gained SS eligibility at the end of the season too so I can use him to back up Ian Desmond, which was another glaring hole on my roster. But because of my late season moves it allowed me the opportunity to try and trade the disappointing Ian Stewart. The thing is he had a great season a couple years ago with 25 home runs. Now he’s getting a fresh start with another team so I knew someone would be willing to take a chance. And when approached, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to trade for my old draft pick, Dayan Viciedo. I dropped him early in 2010 because he was still a couple years away from the pros and I didn’t have the roster flexibility to keep him on my bench. But in this past year he has blossomed and looks to be a star in the making. I’ll take the future star over the reclamation project every day of the week. Of course, my trade partner took note of this and also requested Wade Davis for Carl Pavano. Davis is young and Pavano is quite old but I’m not a huge fan of Davis. He’s never put up big strikeout numbers and if he didn’t play for Tampa Bay then he’d just be average. So while Pavano is still a bit of a downgrade, the swap of Stewart for Viciedo more than makes up for it.
C: Ruiz, Nick Hundley
1B: Butler, Lee, Jones
2B: Cano
SS: Desmond
3B: Bautista, Morel, Seager
OF: Kubel, Brantley, Maybin, Snider, Byrd, Viciedo, Chris Carter
SP: Lincecum, Price, Romero, Happ, Blackburn, Maholm, Pavano, Kevin Correia, Jon Garland
RP: Santos, Guerra, Greg Holland, Felix Doubront (30)
*2010 – finished 17th
*2011 – finished 11th
*2012 - ???
I am in a dynasty fantasy baseball league with some of my friends. There are 20 teams and each team has 25 active roster spots and 5 DL spots for injured players. We also have 5 minor league slots and a separate minor league draft but I won’t bore you with that. If you don’t know, a dynasty league is different from a normal fantasy baseball league because we keep the same players year after year. We draft one time and our teams carry over. It’s like the real life Red Sox. Ben Cherington became the GM this year and he has the players he has. He’ll make some trades or signings but next year he’ll have those same players. Dynasty is based off the same principle.
We started in 2010 and I had the ninth pick in the draft. I wanted to go pitching first because I always end up waiting and piecing together my staff. I did not want that to happen in the dynasty league. I took 2x Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Only one other pitcher went in the first round (Felix Hernandez). In the second round I went to a scarce position (2B) and picked the best player, Robinson Cano. I had a choice between Cano and Pedroia which was tough because I love Pedey in real life but in fantasy Cano is the (slightly) better option. In the third round I got nervous about the lack of quality 1B left so I grabbed Billy Butler. He doesn’t have much power but he is an asset in a league that counts OBP (On-Base Percentage) like this one. Moving along the diamond I wanted to take a 3B in the next round. I was iffy on Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart. I went with Beckham, only to find out that the White Sox were moving him to 2B. Complete waste of a pick (although it would later pay off in a trade). Luckily, Stewart made it back to me (I had to sweat through 20 picks by other people) and I grabbed him with my next pick. In the 6th round I wanted to get a SS and I chose Ian Desmond over Erick Aybar. I still regret this choice. At the time, I thought Aybar had peaked the year earlier and I heard reports stating that Desmond could be a 20/20 guy. He got the 20 steals last year but I’m still waiting for some pop in his bat. At this point in the draft I have no outfielders so I added the power hitting Jason Kubel. I had owned him before and considered him a pretty consistent 25 homers. In round 8 I reached for another outfielder, Michael Brantley. In the draft guide I was using it didn’t rank players dynasty-style (valuing youth and potential) so I wasn’t sure where to take him. I feel this was a little early. In the ninth round I couldn’t believe that David Price (former #1 overall draft pick) was still available. I grabbed him and didn’t think twice. Round 10 I went back to the young outfielders with Travis Snider. Round 11 was another young, Tampa Bay pitcher, Wade Davis. His strikeout numbers have yet to follow him to my team. Cameron Maybin was next… a former prospect whose shine had come off a bit. I picked J.A. Happ next because he was a former rookie of the year and had looked good in his short career. Back to the OF for Gerardo Parra, who hasn’t bloomed yet although he’s shown ability. He’s a player I see now on the waiver wire and always want to give another shot. I finally gave in and selected a closer in round 15 – the Cardinals’ Ryan Franklin. I never like to overrate saves. At this point I have a starter at every position except Catcher. Come on down, Carlos Ruiz! I like him because he’s in the stacked Phillies lineup. Next I choose a reliever JP Howell. An interesting choice because he is not a closer, but he is young and has high strikeout totals. Unfortunately, he’s been hurt and hasn’t amounted to much. I wanted some consistency on my pitching staff so I drafted Nick Blackburn. For 3 straight years he had 10-11 wins with an ERA in the low 4.’s. Round 19 I selected OF Marlon Byrd. Marc Rzepczynski is the pitcher I took with my 20th pick. Round 21 I went with another young pitcher, Wade LeBlanc. He pitches in San Diego which is one of the best pitchers’ parks in the league. I chose another non-closing reliever, Mark Lowe with pick 22. Next up was infield prospect Jason Donald. He was one of the prospects the Phillies sent to the Indians in the Cliff Lee trade. In round 24 I selected Cuban defector Dayan Viciedo who was quite green but a definite source of homers. The final round was upon me and, after choosing prospects with my last 2 picks, I selected an unsexy, unexciting, uninspiring player named Casey Kotchman. Ladies and gentlemen, your inaugural Mound Pounders.
My very first move after the draft – which will go down in history – was picking up Jose Bautista off the waiver wire. He went on to have a breakout season and became a superstar for the Blue Jays. My other big move was trading Gordon Beckham (who was stuck on my bench) for Ricky Romero, an up and coming pitcher whom I was a big fan of. Here is how my team looked at the end of that first season:
C: Ruiz, Ryan Hanigan
1B: Butler
2B: Cano, Donald
SS: Desmond, Yuniesky Betancourt
3B: Bautista, Stewart
OF: Kubel, Brantley, Maybin, Snider, Byrd, Andres Torres
SP: Lincecum, Price, Romero, Davis, Happ, Blackburn, LeBlanc, Brian Duensing
RP: Franklin, Joaquin Benoit, Jason Motte (26)
As you can see I ended the season over the allowable 25 players. Since we have those 5 DL spots, we can “stash” additional injured players at the end of the season. We can hold onto them until February when we have to officially get down to 25. This is a good strategy to buy yourself a few extra months to see who is recovering well and allows a more informed decision in February rather than having to in September.
During the season I obviously made many transactions. I wanted to add a backup catcher and ended up with Hanigan. The same can be said for SS where I grabbed Betancourt. Andres Torres was a great pickup for me because he helped a lot in the steals category. And as you can see, I picked up two other relievers to go along with my draftee, Franklin. Always be reactive and not proactive with relief pitchers.
Year 2 of the dynasty league was very exciting. I was able to pick up some veteran difference makers to help my team now. My goal in last year’s draft was to find young talent with high upside. I want to be good for a long time. Of course working within that strategy usually implies that you’re ignoring the present and waiting for the prospects to blossom. This year I was able to get solid HR contributors like Derrek Lee and Garrett Jones to help my offense, as well as Paul Maholm to boost my starting pitching.
As I already mentioned, I’m not one to overrate saves. The flip side is you never want to ignore them either. My relief corps is 100% changed from last year. In hindsight, dropping Jason Motte was a bad move but he didn’t win the closer role until August – many months after I dropped him. But I was able to pick up Sergio Santos and Javy Guerra who both came out of the woodwork to lead their respective teams in saves. If you play it like I do then you really need to keep a hawkeye on the waiver wire.
I got a stay of execution this year when Jose Bautista managed to reclaim his 3B eligibility. He plays RF now but due to an injury he got enough time at 3B for me to be allowed to play him in that spot. My problem was that Ian Stewart was the only other 3B on my roster and he had the worst year of his career this year. So bad, in fact, that he was traded in the offseason. Knowing this was a weakness on my roster I picked up a couple kids before the season ended to see if they might stick. Brent Morel is probably the best bet to be my 3B of the future. Kyle Seager gained SS eligibility at the end of the season too so I can use him to back up Ian Desmond, which was another glaring hole on my roster. But because of my late season moves it allowed me the opportunity to try and trade the disappointing Ian Stewart. The thing is he had a great season a couple years ago with 25 home runs. Now he’s getting a fresh start with another team so I knew someone would be willing to take a chance. And when approached, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to trade for my old draft pick, Dayan Viciedo. I dropped him early in 2010 because he was still a couple years away from the pros and I didn’t have the roster flexibility to keep him on my bench. But in this past year he has blossomed and looks to be a star in the making. I’ll take the future star over the reclamation project every day of the week. Of course, my trade partner took note of this and also requested Wade Davis for Carl Pavano. Davis is young and Pavano is quite old but I’m not a huge fan of Davis. He’s never put up big strikeout numbers and if he didn’t play for Tampa Bay then he’d just be average. So while Pavano is still a bit of a downgrade, the swap of Stewart for Viciedo more than makes up for it.
C: Ruiz, Nick Hundley
1B: Butler, Lee, Jones
2B: Cano
SS: Desmond
3B: Bautista, Morel, Seager
OF: Kubel, Brantley, Maybin, Snider, Byrd, Viciedo, Chris Carter
SP: Lincecum, Price, Romero, Happ, Blackburn, Maholm, Pavano, Kevin Correia, Jon Garland
RP: Santos, Guerra, Greg Holland, Felix Doubront (30)
*2010 – finished 17th
*2011 – finished 11th
*2012 - ???
Monday, January 30, 2012
Book Review: Knuckler: My Life with Baseball’s Most Confounding Pitch
by: Tim Wakefield (w/ Tony Massarotti)
If I only make one point in this blog post it’s that I don’t like being lied to. The author is listed as Tim Wakefield. The subtitle is “My Life with Baseball’s Most Confounding Pitch.” So imagine my surprise to find that this book is written entirely in the third person. Hell, Wakefield is quoted in his own book. The author wouldn’t need to quote himself because he is the one saying it! What a crock.
As a biography, this book is fine. It focuses on the amazing career of Wakefield while also delving into previous Red Sox seasons. I liked that Massarotti didn’t ignore what else was going on at the time around Wakefield. That is as important to his story as anything.
Nothing made me laugh harder than this line right here. I forgot how exciting it seemed at the time but just how terrible it all was in hindsight. Good thing Theo Epstein drafted well:
"Fortified during an off-season in which club ownership and management committed in excess of $200 million to long-term contracts for outfielder J.D. Drew, shortstop Julio Lugo, and Japanese pitching import Daisuke Matsuzaka."
If I only make one point in this blog post it’s that I don’t like being lied to. The author is listed as Tim Wakefield. The subtitle is “My Life with Baseball’s Most Confounding Pitch.” So imagine my surprise to find that this book is written entirely in the third person. Hell, Wakefield is quoted in his own book. The author wouldn’t need to quote himself because he is the one saying it! What a crock.
As a biography, this book is fine. It focuses on the amazing career of Wakefield while also delving into previous Red Sox seasons. I liked that Massarotti didn’t ignore what else was going on at the time around Wakefield. That is as important to his story as anything.
Nothing made me laugh harder than this line right here. I forgot how exciting it seemed at the time but just how terrible it all was in hindsight. Good thing Theo Epstein drafted well:
"Fortified during an off-season in which club ownership and management committed in excess of $200 million to long-term contracts for outfielder J.D. Drew, shortstop Julio Lugo, and Japanese pitching import Daisuke Matsuzaka."
Friday, January 20, 2012
For the love of Pete Pedro Pierre ...
If you haven’t heard, Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona is being held in his home country of the Dominican Republic for falsifying information. What information? His name (Roberto Hernandez Heredia) and his age (31, not 28 as he has stated). What is even crazier is that Carmona Heredia isn’t even the first MLB pitcher to get caught this offseason.
The man formerly known as Leo Nunez pitched for the Marlins this past season before getting held up in the DR and charged with falsifying information. His real name? Juan Carlos Oviedo. Age? 29, not 28 as he has claimed.
Two players with Hall of Fame credentials, Vladimir Guerrero and Miguel Tejada, were both busted within the past 5 years of lying about their age. Tejada claimed to be 2 years younger than he was and Guerrero said he was 1 year younger than actuality. It’s crazy to consider just how many other players may be disguising themselves as well.
I understand that there simply aren’t the same opportunities in the DR and Cuba for talented athletes. But to lie to this extent? Thinking no one will ever find out? That’s just ignorance. If you can play, you can play. And believe me, teams will pay.
The man formerly known as Leo Nunez pitched for the Marlins this past season before getting held up in the DR and charged with falsifying information. His real name? Juan Carlos Oviedo. Age? 29, not 28 as he has claimed.
Two players with Hall of Fame credentials, Vladimir Guerrero and Miguel Tejada, were both busted within the past 5 years of lying about their age. Tejada claimed to be 2 years younger than he was and Guerrero said he was 1 year younger than actuality. It’s crazy to consider just how many other players may be disguising themselves as well.
I understand that there simply aren’t the same opportunities in the DR and Cuba for talented athletes. But to lie to this extent? Thinking no one will ever find out? That’s just ignorance. If you can play, you can play. And believe me, teams will pay.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Location, Location, Location (College Edition)
The BCS Championship Game was last night with Alabama defeating LSU. I wasn’t watching. I’m not a college sports fan.*
I think some of it has to do with where I grew up. Yes, it’s the City of Champions but that didn’t start until February 2002 with the Patriots. I was in my junior year of high school by then so it doesn’t explain my entire childhood. The issue is that while New England does have an extremely high number of colleges, no one would consider it “collegiate”. Our biggest school is Boston College; not quite up there with Michigan or Ohio State. BC has a football/basketball presence and UConn is a big time basketball school but they’re practically New York. Holy Cross is fun to root for when they make it into the NCAA Tournament but the only proven consistent college sport in the Northeast is hockey. BC, BU, UNH, UMaine, Vermont. All top teams and all based locally. That’s what makes the Beanpot the only legit college sporting event in the area.
In lieu of the all-encompassing college programs we have the Red Sox (MLB), Patriots (NFL), Celtics (NBA), Bruins (NHL), Revolution (MLS), Cannons (MLL), Breakers (WPS) and more. So unlike someone growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I have much more to root for than just the Cornhuskers.
But I think timing plays a part too. I worked with a guy who was a huge fan of University of Miami football. Not the school, or their other sports, just the football team. But when he was growing up they were one of the top programs in the nation. They had a huge number of their student-athletes turning pro and becoming superstars. So I can see where that may have played a part in him becoming interested in them. But he wasn’t an NFL guy. He would root for those former Hurricanes but didn’t have his own team. And that’s the other truth… people are either a fan of college or pro and there is no overlap.
*March Madness withstanding. I don’t watch the college basketball season but the NCAA Tournament is a national pastime.
I think some of it has to do with where I grew up. Yes, it’s the City of Champions but that didn’t start until February 2002 with the Patriots. I was in my junior year of high school by then so it doesn’t explain my entire childhood. The issue is that while New England does have an extremely high number of colleges, no one would consider it “collegiate”. Our biggest school is Boston College; not quite up there with Michigan or Ohio State. BC has a football/basketball presence and UConn is a big time basketball school but they’re practically New York. Holy Cross is fun to root for when they make it into the NCAA Tournament but the only proven consistent college sport in the Northeast is hockey. BC, BU, UNH, UMaine, Vermont. All top teams and all based locally. That’s what makes the Beanpot the only legit college sporting event in the area.
In lieu of the all-encompassing college programs we have the Red Sox (MLB), Patriots (NFL), Celtics (NBA), Bruins (NHL), Revolution (MLS), Cannons (MLL), Breakers (WPS) and more. So unlike someone growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I have much more to root for than just the Cornhuskers.
But I think timing plays a part too. I worked with a guy who was a huge fan of University of Miami football. Not the school, or their other sports, just the football team. But when he was growing up they were one of the top programs in the nation. They had a huge number of their student-athletes turning pro and becoming superstars. So I can see where that may have played a part in him becoming interested in them. But he wasn’t an NFL guy. He would root for those former Hurricanes but didn’t have his own team. And that’s the other truth… people are either a fan of college or pro and there is no overlap.
*March Madness withstanding. I don’t watch the college basketball season but the NCAA Tournament is a national pastime.
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